[X] Third Squad
[X] Reach the civilians and escort them in.
As has been argued, the Monster could either get taken aback by our sudden surge of assault or expecting it by deliberately targeting the civvies. Regardless, it doesn't matter. Because the fact that we are here makes means that we have to do our best.
Also, if that is the second layer of the trap, I'd rather have the Third Squad hold with Bahadir. As has been stated in the update, they would be at a defensible position and should be able to repel any flanking strike, especially if Atun's sharpness make itself known. More importantly, however, their freshness shouldn't hinder Bahadir too much there than they would be if they go for the civvies. The latter is all but guaranteed to have at least one fatality and severe injuries for our freshest squad.
"Second Squad, you're with the guns, first and third, with me," you call, "In the name of Allah, in the name of the Sultan, in the name of the Army, charge!"
You crest the hill, charging down towards the hollow alongside third squad. Your ears fill with the sound of gunfire as first squad opens fire overhead. Dirt and shrapnel fly into the air as another thrown munition lands, and detonates, short of the hollow as you slide into cover.
You peek over the log, resting your shotgun on a mossy branch and firing on shapes that get too close. Several members of third squad are slow to start shooting, and Cavus Atun has to bellow at them to form up, provide first squad the cover it needs to join you.
More innocents die while you wait, while you harry their murderers. Gunfire and screams mingle, the scent of blood and death filling the air as a child drags her father towards you. You hear Faysal slide up next to you, and you do not wait to confer with him before vaulting into the fray.
The civilians see you and starts to turn. One of the Ottoman soldiers yells, "Allahu Akbar!" before he is cut down by a rifle round to the back. A creature of exposed muscle and gnashing teeth descends from above, raising an exposed rib as some sort of improvised spear. You shoot it, but it lands atop you, knocks the shotgun from your hands as it dies.
Your men overtake you as you throw it free. Some usher civilians towards cover, others continue to fire on your monstrous opponents. Faysal throws you your shotgun with a smile, and you nod a thanks as you rejoin the fray.
The faint detonation of rifle grenades sounds of behind you. You see Altan turn towards the hill, fear in his eyes, before he falls, bleeding profusely from his side. You are about to turn yourself when you see the flash of russian uniform out of the corner of your eye.
You level your gun, thinking it another monster on the attack, before you realize that he is still human. Two Russians, a young boy and an older man carrying a child. You step through the crowd towards them, see the older man buckle and fall as a rifle round rips through his kneecap. See the younger stop for a second, scream in anguish, and grab the child.
See the monster descending from the trees, a Russian saber fused to a ruined arm. You fire, just winging the beast but you ruin its descent and that's what matters. It impales the older Russian as it lands, but misses the boy. As it turns, spins, rises, you shoot it again and it collapses.
Bahadir's machine gun roars to life behind you. Rounds rip through the trees and scythe a three-legged abomination in half. The walker stutters, pivots, and begins to retreat in the face of machine gun fire. The rest of the monsters begin to follow, and you know you are safe.
You drag the Russian boy to cover, where your men are counting casualties and reassuring the survivors. He does not protest as you take him to Mehmet, and more and more men stare at him as they recognize the uniform. "Mehmet, ask the boy his name, ask him if he is from the Sudak," you say.
"He saved our lives," says one of the scouts, but you glare at him and he shuts up. Mehmet and the Russian converse, before eventually Mehmet turns to you.
"His name is Ivan, sir," says Mehmet, "He's one of the Sudak's sailors."
"Keep him here, make sure he is safe, make sure he doesn't run," you say, and then you turn and see to the survivors.
Your casualties were light. Those who you rescued...less so, but it could have been far, far worse. Second squad had repelled an assault from something they described as a truck made out of flesh and sheep-wool, that fled when they began to volley grenades at it. Of the civilians, a woman named Vasilka seems to have taken charge of triage, and she turns to speak to you as you approach.
"Vasilka?" you ask.
"Salaam, sir," she replies, her eyes are on your but her hands still work, wrapping a torn shirt around a bulletwound in the shoulder of a crying child no older than ten. "I am afraid you have me at a disadvantage."
"Mulazim Yousof Oziri," you say, "I apologize for distracting you, but I need to know what happened."
"You had that Ghul boy whipped the other day," says Vasilka, and you can tell that she has made her judgement of you and that it is not positive, "For marrying?"
You inhale deeply, but decide against making an issue of it or trying to defend yourself. "Yes," you admit, "And it was wrong. But I need to know what happened. Why you were out here, why the Creatures were chasing you."
"Mahmud Pasha imports his workers through truck convoys. We were on one of them. Laborers, house staff, some scholars, and our families. Your friends were lost, stopped the truck driver and asked for directions, and then the shooting starting. I thought we would all die, but those Russian boys showed up, showed us how to run. The creatures then started….herding us, harassing us and striking occasionally. Until that terrible bleating started, and the walker came, and they started shooting."
You think of the map of the island, the roads and the manor and the direction they must have come from. And as you do a pit forms in your stomach. "Which way?" you ask, "In which direction were they taking you?"
And she points the way your men came from.
You thank her, and stand, and plot your next move.
The tunnel will be filled by now, toppled or blown up or turned into a brutal trap. That leaves you with the civilians to protect and the walker to kill, and a choice to make as to which to prioritize. The creature, after all, is unlikely to leave witnesses to speak of its plans.
Where to?
[ ] Pursue the Walker [Pick the civilian destination.]
You send your walking wounded elsewhere with the civilians and a couple of the scouts. Then you take Ivan, you pick up your guns, and you finish this fight. It's risky, for you, for the civvies, but you can't risk the Monster getting to work on the walker.
[ ] The Farmhouse
You know that the Farmhouse hasn't been attacked yet. There's plenty of room, you'll have time to dig in, and someone can take a Truck to town or to base to get the word out. But it's not meant to withstand an assault, and you'll be dragging more civilians into this mess.
[ ] The Manor
The old manors were designed as fortresses, in case the locals got ideas of self rule. It'll be a singularly defensible position, Mahmud Pasha almost certainly has guards to assist, and he may well have a radio to contact command with. But it means going straight through the Monster's territory, into an area where it's set up traps before.
[ ] The Qaf tap
The detectives are armed and the place should be pretty defensible. The Monster will also need a Qaf Tap to refuel the walker and any similar technology it grabs and this one is the closest. Of course, if it's attacking people on the road then it's possible that it's already assaulted the Qaf Tap.
[ ] Crapets
It's a proper town. There will be too many people for a frontal assault. It's also a relatively long walk and will destroy any semblance of secrecy here. It'll cause a panic, maybe riots, as people react. But there's no way it will attack it like it might any other location.
That went well!
You forces took one dead and three wounded. Moving out to save the civilians hurt, but second squad had rifle grenades to ward off the flanking attack so you weren't too badly off.
Third Squad lost one Nefer and has two injuries. Nazir, a new character, with a cheek laceration and Altan, who got shot through the thigh.
First squad has one injury. Hamza has a bruised rib.
You took the right actions to save as many civilians as possible. As such you saved Ivan, who you may remember from Captain Traznik's journal. Twenty seven civilians, Ivan, and three Ottoman scouts (All wounded) survived the fight.
So you're probably wondering why this is back after such a long time.
I put Incident Eliph to the side to focus on other projects through which I was hoping to make money, namely a few tabletop RPGs still in development. Both of those have reached a playtest stage, and my Ko-Fi hit the point where my promised Patreon is now materializing. As such, Incident Eliph's back and is one of the projects supported through the Patreon, which you can find here.
[X] Pursue the Walker [Pick the civilian destination.]
-[X] The Qaf Tap
We have already seen that we cannot give this monster time. So we should pursue immediately. Setting the civilians to the tap is probably the safest bet. If it has been hit the monster will have no reason to go back there immediately. If it has not been, the detectives there can guard them and they can Fort up until we are done.
[X] Pursue the Walker [Pick the civilian destination.]
-[X] The Qaf Tap
The Monster is a bit handsier with its infrastructure than contemporary powers are but there's some things it can't (yet?) make just out of meat and bone and gristle.
Of course, this is ringing the dinner bell and we have a number of freshly wounded, including one who can't walk (shot through the thigh). Better hope that we can fort up fast because I expect we'll only get there after a series of ambushes on the way.
[X] Pursue the Walker [Pick the civilian destination.]
-- [X] The Farmhouse
Stopping the monster is the priority in this scenario since as far as we know it is "centralized" in a way that if it can be killed, its operation ends alongside it, but our second priority needs to be reinforcements and getting the civilians to a safe and defensible position ASAP until reinforcements arrive.
The Farmhouse strikes me as the best balance between getting help, maintaining some semblance of order/secrecy, and protecting the civilians.
Oh shit Ivan. I was just skimming through the Captain's journal and by all indication the guy's a good noodle as far as, uh, "weird fantasy WW1" settings go. Admittedly the narrator of the bit (ie. the Captain) pretty much immediately appends that with the caveat of "god I am so fucking concerned about what's going to happen when and if he gets promoted, he's way too nice, this war will chew him up and spit him out".
So in terms of general, like, approach I think we can generally, if not necessarily trust the guy, at least proceed with a few pointers as to his personality.
Also, Imma be contrarian by nature and go:
[X] The Manor
Don't split up, don't send the civilians off, find the most fortified ground we can get and call command. I know jack and shit about, like, actual military strategy lol but I think it's important to consider the dimension that...the towns people aren't just a tempting target, they're an incredibly useful resource. And since the island's started locking down one that's become scarcer. They're not absolutely desperately needed, no. The Monster can make do if it has to, but it seems to preferentially work with humans and higher order organisms. And ultimately all of it's subordinate creatures are disposable. Investments of time, energy, effort, probably some fucked up biohorror magic, sure. But it can gamble a lot more easily and a lot more painlessly than we can.
We feel every loss much more keenly. We're slower, more vulnerable, and do unfortunate things like "try not to die" and "get afraid". But the Monster? Every asset it has isn't just disposable. They're recyclable.
I think there's good odds that it'll take a second run at the refugees, it still has that truck that Second Squad encountered around right? We don't really have any good options available if it decides to lure us away with one or the other/strategically sacrifice either. Losing the walker or the truck is a blow sure but they're big, noisy, originally civilian and had a limited utility span anyway. And having a few dozen mostly warm bodies is a very nice consolation prize.
The Monster is a bit handsier with its infrastructure than contemporary powers are but there's some things it can't (yet?) make just out of meat and bone and gristle.
Of course, this is ringing the dinner bell and we have a number of freshly wounded, including one who can't walk (shot through the thigh). Better hope that we can fort up fast because I expect we'll only get there after a series of ambushes on the way.
I think it's more a matter of opportunism and efficiency, even on the submarine it was re-purposing existing metal and merging it with meat. It doesn't re-invent the wheel if it doesn't have to.
Your job, in the end, is to make terrible decisions. And so you make one.
It takes some time to get the civilians into a state where they can walk. To bandage wounds and quiet crying children and figure out how to move the injured. The sounds of the retreating walker fade into the distance, but every instinct you have tells you to protect them instead. To take them back to the manor and fortify, and save as many as you can.
But that's not an option. The walker is getting further away, and you know from the Sudak that letting it go will merely invite further death. That if you fail to destroy it now it will turn the Walker into a true weapon of war and unleash it against you once again. So you make your choice, and regret bitterly that you have loaned away your signalmen. Without lamps and signals and djinn, too far away and too dangerous to send a runner, you will have to send away the civilians and your wounded and trust that they survive. It is a terrible choice, but you need not execute it as a terrible man.
So you send all the wounded with them. Including Hamza and Nazir, both of whom are fully capable of fighting, and a pair of runners. Eight rifles, even if one of them can't walk and three others are traumatized, are as much a guard as you can spare. You pray that it is enough.
Then you return to your troops, and begin to assemble the Cavus. Faysal and Osman are ready soon enough, but you find Atun staring at his dead Nefer.
Atun's eyes fixed upon the hole in the man's brow. His face is slack and mumbled prayers tumble from his lips. You stop alongside him, giving him a long moment to mourn and the opportunity to speak his mind. For a moment, your profound dislike of the man is forgotten.
"There was nothing I could do," said Atun, "He was right in front of me and then he was just dead and there was nothing I could do."
You do not put a hand on his shoulder, for you know that Atun has his pride, but you step close and drop your voice to a whisper, to offer what solace you can. "You can pray for him, brother," you say, "It is all anyone can ask of you." He scarcely acknowledges your words, but within a few minutes he finishes. Composes himself, and joins the rest of his squad as you begin the pursuit.
You follow a trail of shattered branches, splintered trees, and cloven earth. Your platoon moves silently, coordinating through hand gestures, scanning the trees for ambush, for sentries, and for clues as you go.
You are half an hour into your march when Faysal holds up a hand and the platoon halts. You stride up to him, following his eyes to another of the sheep-alarms impaled on a high branch. You gesture for everyone to step backwards, out of view, and with a nod you hand your Kilij to Arslan.
He nods and strides forwards, keeping the trees between himself and the sheep for as long as he can. Boots scrape against bark, wood crackles and snaps as Arslan climbs up towards the sheep and out of view. You hold your breath, and four men raise their rifles, waiting for you to give the word, for the sheep to spot Arslan and raise the alarm. For something, everything, to go wrong.
You are too far away to hear the kill when it happens, but a moment later Arslan strides triumphantly away from the tree. Your Kilij in one hand, the sheep's head in the other, and his uniform covered in oak-splinters and dried sap. A slight cheer erupts, and you are torn between terror that your cover might be blown and profound, profound annoyance at your men as you motion for the platoon to shut up.
Fortunately, the cheer seemed quiet enough to pass unnoticed. No screams ring out in the distance, no monsters tear out of the woods. As your chase resumes, you are almost able to forget what lives in these woods. To think them a peaceful place. Then you notice the utter lack of animal sounds, and remember your peril.
You imagine that you must be close to the center of the island when you hear it again. The distant roar of the walker's engine. It's quieter than before, and you're fairly certain that it isn't moving. You signal a halt, and order Turgut to scout ahead.
You wait five minutes, then ten, and eventually send Faysal and a Nefer out to check on him.
They return, Turgut in tow, far more quickly. Turgut has a rat's head in one hand. The ears and nose look to have been removed and sewn shut, and all of its fur is gone.
You give it a disgusted look, nod to the trio, and say, "Report."
"Pickets," says Faysal, "A few of those rats and half a dozen of those monsters each. They're guarding wherever the mech's stashed. Maybe, I dunno, half a kilometer past the pickets?"
You nod, and turn to Turgut, and start to think of your plan. "And what took you so long, Turgut?" you ask.
"Hunting rats," he replies.
Of course he was.
Ignoring Turgut, how do you proceed?
[ ] Move slowly, try to avoid the pickets. You want to try and get the drop on the warmech, even if it means the pickets might try and envelope you afterwards
[ ] Affix bayonets, ambush the nearest picket. Try to kill them silently and advance faster than the realization that it's taken losses. It's risky and relies on assumptions, but it'll be quicker than sneaking around.
[ ] Open fire. It wouldn't need alarms if it could see through the eyes of its monsters. That must mean that it has some sort of perception limits, some sort of command loop that you can exploit. Punch a hole through its pickets and try to hit the mech before it organizes a response.
[X] Open fire. It wouldn't need alarms if it could see through the eyes of its monsters. That must mean that it has some sort of perception limits, some sort of command loop that you can exploit. Punch a hole through its pickets and try to hit the mech before it organizes a response.
[X] Move slowly, try to avoid the pickets. You want to try and get the drop on the warmech, even if it means the pickets might try and envelope you afterwards
[X] Affix bayonets, ambush the nearest picket. Try to kill them silently and advance faster than the realization that it's taken losses. It's risky and relies on assumptions, but it'll be quicker than sneaking around.
This way, we'll at least know we've punched one hole in the line for use as an emergency exit if the need arises.
More worryingly, where is the walker? We should have been able to follow big, obvious footprints and signs. If it's not here, where?
[X] Affix bayonets, ambush the nearest picket. Try to kill them silently and advance faster than the realization that it's taken losses. It's risky and relies on assumptions, but it'll be quicker than sneaking around.
This way, we'll at least know we've punched one hole in the line for use as an emergency exit if the need arises.
More worryingly, where is the walker? We should have been able to follow big, obvious footprints and signs. If it's not here, where?
